The
Bible frequently divides the number seven into four and three or three and four.
Three is the number of God, and four is the number of man. Four followed by
three means that man advances and draws nigh to God. Three followed by four
indicates a falling from a good position to the lower level of man. Since the
churches are seen and discussed in chapters 2 and 3 as first three and then
four, they are depicted as going downhill. But the seven seals are mentioned in
a cluster of four first and of three next, so that what is expressed here is
different from what is expressed in the discussion of the seven churches.

What
this passage of Scripture speaks of is the situation of the church being
persecuted during these two thousand years.

6.9
“The word of God” includes all the commandments of God.

“And
for the testimony which they held” means that the believers bear witness to the
testimony of the Lord Jesus habitually (Rev. 1.2, 6.9, 12.17). Some people
maintain that this passage does not refer to the church under persecution
because it has not mentioned that they held to the testimony of Jesus. Instead,
the passage should be considered as referring to the persecution of the Old
Testament saints. Yet if we remember that the purpose of this whole book is
centered around the testimony of Jesus, then “the testimony which they held”
must be in connection with the same testimony, and therefore it must be the
Lord’s children in view here.

“The
altar”—The Bible speaks of two altars: (1) that upon which the sacrifices are
offered, and (2) the golden altar of incense. One renowned writer declared that
all the altars in the book of Revelation should be translated as altars of
incense. But there is not sufficient justification for such an assertion.

On the contrary, the
altar here must be the altar of sacrifices—for the following reasons.

(1) According to Old
Testament typology, no one should go up to the altar with his nakedness
uncovered (Ex. 20.26). This signifies that no naked body can meet God. Anyone
who does not have a resurrection body is considered naked, and therefore he
cannot appear before God. For this reason, 2 Corinthians 5.4 speaks about being
“clothed upon” with a new body. (After a person is dead, his soul does not go to
God right away.) Without resurrection, no one can stand beside the golden altar
of incense.

(2) When the Bible
speaks of altar, it always refers to the altar of sacrifice. Special descriptive
words such as “golden”, “incense”, and so forth are used to refer to the golden
altar of incense so as to distinguish it from the altar standing in the outer
court.

(3) The blood of all
the sacrifices flows down underneath the altar (Ex. 29.12; Lev. 4.7, 5.9).

(4) There is life in
the blood, and this word “life” in the original Hebrew is the word “soul” (Lev.
17.11 mg., 17.14). “Underneath the altar” means underneath the earth. The altar
typifies the cross; beneath the cross is the earth. Hence underneath the altar
here refers to Paradise in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12.40). We notice the
following clause in Acts 2.27: “because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades”;
moreover, in Numbers 16.32 it is stated that “the earth opened its mouth, and
swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto
Korah, and all their goods” (Not only may no man appear before God without a
body, neither may he enter the lake of fire without a body.).

“Slain”—During the
Roman era, Christians were persecuted and many were slain. The writer of the
book of Revelation, John himself, was among the persecuted. Even as recently as
in modern Russia, countless numbers of Christians have been killed.

6.10 “O Master, the
holy and true”—Govett felt that this was the way the Old Testament saints
addressed the Lord, yet in Revelation 3.7 the Lord himself told the church that
He is the one who is holy and true. Thus we here find the saints addressing the
Lord.

“Them that dwell on
the earth”—Such an expression is found many times in this book (8.13; 13.8,12;
13.14; 14.6; 17.2,8). It refers to those who make earth their home and have
their all on earth. These will God judge. According to 3.10 the hour of trial
will come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth.

The prayer here is
not the same as Stephen’s, for Stephen prayed for God’s mercy while the prayer
in this passage is for judgment. Hence the saints here are praying against
sinners.

“Avenge our
blood”—God does not forget the prayer of the poor (Ps. 9.12). When God begins to
judge those who have persecuted the saints, He avenges His saints.

6.11 “White
robe”—This shows that God has justified them because they were accepted by Him.
The justification here is different from that of salvation since this is the
verdict of God who on the throne is announcing that the saints have won the
case, they only waiting for the verdict to be executed.

“Rest yet for a
little time”—This word alone may prove that the church cannot be raptured all at
once, because this waiting implies a long and protracted persecution.

“Until their
fellow-servants also and their brethren”—During the Great Tribulation there will
be great slaughter. In 7.13-15 political persecution is spoken of, but 17.6
refers to religious persecution. The way for the church is through death.

The Bible seems to
imply that at the first rapture there is no resurrection. The phrase “underneath
the altar” does not refer to death as a result of a sin-offering, rather it
alludes to death as a consequence of a burnt-offering (Ex. 40.6,10,29; Lev.
4.7,10,18; 1 Chron. 6.49, 16.40, 21.29; 2 Chron. 29.18).

What men take note
of is the sin-offering, but that which God sees first is the burnt-offering.
Although without the Lord Jesus ever being the sin-offering we would none of us
have life, nevertheless God will not accept anything without Christ being the
burnt-offering—that is to say, His offering His all to God in obeying and doing
God’s will. Here do we see that even His death on the cross is according to the
will of God. In that same spirit of Christ Paul too offered himself as a
burnt-offering (Phil. 2.17; 2 Tim. 4.6). Throughout his life he was a living
sacrifice.

All the martyrs
shall enter the kingdom to reign. Three classes of people will reign with Christ
(20.4): (1) “thrones, and they sat upon them”—this refers to those people such
as are cited in 3.21; (2) “them that had been beheaded for the testimony of
Jesus, and for the word of God” (they are now resurrected)—here it is a
reference to those people as are found mentioned in 6.11; and (3) “such as
worshipped not the beast, neither his image”—this is referring to those
fellow-servants and their brethren mentioned in 6.11 (they also are
resurrected).